Year: 2012

Following the agreement between the ICRP and FMU in July 2012, the first ICRP-FMU joint seminar was held at FMU on 2 November 2012, joined by 15 ICRP main commission members. After introduction of mandate and structure of the ICRP by the Chair, Dr. Claire Cousins, Dr. Eliseo Vano and Mr. Jacques Lochard introduced recent activities of the Commission including their supports of Fukushima after the disaster. The seminar then focused on the actions taken by FMU; in which Dr. Arifumi Hasegawa reported the initial medical response, and Dr. Makoto Miyazaki introduced issues related to radiation risk communication. The overview of the Fukushima Health Management Survey was presented by Prof. Seiji Yasumura, followed by the descriptions of the survey details by Prof. Akira Ohtsuru on radiation dose estimation and Prof. Shinichi Suzuki on thyroid ultrasound examination. Participants actively exchanged their views on radiation health issues.

Dr. Nestor Nicolas, Undersecretary of Emergency of the Government of Buenos Aires, Argentina, visited Fukushima on 15-16 October. He joined in the meeting at the Department of Radiation Health Management and discussed issues including initial responses to the Fukushima nuclear accident, training for radiation medicine and effective risk communication tools. Dr. Nicolas visited Koriyama to meet Dr. Hokuto Hoshi, the President of Hoshi General Hospital & a board member of Fukushima Medical Association, as well as an officer of the Fukushima Prefectural Government in charge of emergency management, to learn about experiences and roles of local institutes during and after the disaster.

Dr. Zhanat Carr, coordinator of the WHO Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance Network (REMPAN), from the WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, visited FMU on 4 October 2012 and met with FMU President Dr. Shinichi Kikuchi and Vice President Dr. Shunichi Yamashita. They discussed possible collaborative activities between the WHO and FMU that is joining the REMPAN network as a Liaison Institution.
Dr. Carr participated in a meeting of the Department of Radiation Health Management and visited the Radiation Emergency Medicine class for FMU students held at the Education Center for Disaster Medicine. She also visited FMU Radiation Medical Science Center, exchanged views with faculty members and other staff, and discussed the progress of the Fukushima Health Management Survey led by FMU.

Kamedo Delegation (members of the National Board of Health and Welfare and the staff of the Embassy of Sweden) visited FMU. Dr. Munakata (President of the FMU Hospital), Dr. Yamashita (Vice President of FMU) and Mr. Fujishima (Secretary General) made presentations on the FMU’s response to the disaster and on the Fukushima Health Management Survey.
◾’FMU after 3.11′ by Dr. Munakata

The Ministry of Environment 4th Discussion Session with Experts was held in Fukushima Medical University and the FMU Vice President Dr. Masafumi Abe made a presentation on the Fukushima Health Management Survey.
◾’Fukushima Health Management Survey’ by Dr. Masafumi Abe